American Idol (season 4)
The fourth season of American Idol premiered on January 17, 2018. The season was hosted by Ryan Seacrest. Regional Auditions Auditions were held in New York, Cleveland, Minneapolis, Seattle, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Dallas, and Atlanta. Hollywood week The Hollywood rounds of the audition process were held over four days in November 2017 at the Orpheum Theatre in Los Angeles. The first round consisted of each contestant singing one song a capella of their own choosing in front of the judges and all the other contestants. Contestants were then told whether they were moving on or going home, in groups of six. This extended over the first two days. The second round took place on the second and third day, and consisted of groups of three or four contestants choosing, rehearsing, and then performing one of nine pre-selected songs. Groups were reviewed and contestants were then judged individually as to whether they were moving on or going home. The third round took place on the fourth day, and consisted of individual contestants performing a song from a pre-selected list, accompanied by a piano and backup singers. Contestants were again informed of whether they had made the cut or not. Green mile The final pre-audience voting cut down took place at the Pasadena Civic Center on January 12 or 13, 2017, just before the regional audition shows began airing. Without any further auditioning, but possibly with some audience research having taken place, the 40 remaining contestants were reduced to 24. In a process taking a whole day, contestants wait in a sitting room until one by one, they go up an elevator and take a long walk to the other end of the Center's Gold Room. Then the three judges told them whether they have made it onto the stage show or are cut. The 24 semi-finalists were announced February 15, 2018. Semi-finals The semi-finals began on February 20, 2018. There were three shows each week for the three weeks of the semi-finals. The semi-finals featured the contestants (24 total) divided by gender with the 12 male singers singing on Tuesdays and the 12 female singers on Wednesdays. Each person had the chance to select a song to sing live in front of the judges. Following the show's airing, each U.S. timezone would have two hours to vote by phone or by text-messaging. On Thursday, the two of each group with the fewest votes were eliminated each week until the finals. Semi-finalists Females *'Jess Yardley', 20 years old, auditioned in Dallas, and currently resides in Davis, OK. *'Veronica James', 27 years old, auditioned in Phoenix, and currently resides in Ramona, CA. *'Ariella Vargas', 19 years old, auditioned in Phoenix, and currently resides in Greeley, CO. *'Rosie Fanning', 23 years old, auditioned in Cleveland, and currently resides in Gridley, IL. Males *'Drew Bischoff', 24 years old, auditioned in Los Angeles, and currently resides in San Francisco, CA. *'Stefan Lozano', 18 years old, auditioned in Seattle, and currently resides in Hutchinson, KS. *'Ryan Bullock', 22 years old, auditioned in Minneapolis, and currently resides in Russellville, MO. *'Zack Jackson, 25 years old, auditioned in New York, and currently resides in Norfolk, VA. 'Top 24' '''Theme:' 2017 Hits Females Males 'Top 20' Theme: 1970s Females Males 'Top 16' Theme: Aretha Franklin Classics Females Males Elimination chart Note: Bottom 2 indicates that the contestant was 'saved' last. This may or may not indicate his or her actual vote rank. Sometimes, Seacrest will announce that the contestant is in the bottom 2, sometimes he will not.